New Fuse 8 n’ Kate Episode: Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Though I acknowledge the danger of running through the most popular picture books too early in my little podcast’s lifespan, for whatever reason I couldn’t resist going for the gold (so to speak). This one’s quite a bit of fun. Kate manages to drive me crazy within the first 30 seconds by calling Harry Potter YA . . . AND WE’RE OFF! Then she has an interpretation about some of the more horrific aspects of the book that I honestly didn’t see coming.

You can download the entire episode on Soundcloud here and, of course, you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

Answer to The Little House :What book did Virginia Lee Burton create that was ahead of its time? Just prior to writing The Little House, Burton actually attempted to write a book that can only be described as far and away ahead of her time. In the late 30s, early 40s she noticed that her nine-year-old son loved his comic books. The answer? Calico the Wonder Horse; or, The Saga of Stewy Slinker was an honest-to-goodness picture book in a comic-book format. As Minders of Make-Believe puts it, the book was a “gallant though futile gesture.” The Little House was made soon thereafter and got itself a Caldecott Medal in 1943, so there you go.

Controversy #1: I’d consider the pedigree of this story sketchy, were it not so bloody well written. Apparently the article Runaway Money: A Children’s Classic, A 9-Year-Old-Boy And a Fateful Bequest appeared in The Wall Street Journal, though the sole copy I can find online appears on the reporter’s website. The long and the short of it is that Margaret Wise Brown willed a neighbor’s child as the benefactor of some of her books. Amongst them, Goodnight Moon. And for this particular kid, there couldn’t possibly have been a worse gift to give. It’s fascinating. Particularly when you get to his dubious claims regarding his relationship to Ms. Brown.

Controversy #2: Clement Hurd and his penchant for the smokes. Cast your minds back to 2005. An innocent time. A time when Harper Collins decided that maybe it would be a good idea to remove the cigarette from illustrator Clement Hurd’s photograph. CNET News said of the image, “Now, it looks like Hurd is trying to get someone to repay him 20 bucks.” Even Clement Hurd, Thatcher’s son who gave permission for the removal, said of the picture that it, “looks slightly absurd to me.” The New York Times did a piece on the change and capped it off well. “And the publisher may have inadvertently created a collector’s item: The next editions of ‘Goodnight Moon’ will likely feature a different photograph of Mr. Hurd, without a cigarette in hand.”

Karen Karbo wrote an amusing riff on the other dangerous elements in this book as well (ex: “Balloons cause more choking deaths among 3- to 6-year-olds than any other toy. Suggested change: Digitally remove.”)

Elizabeth Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Comments

This is a good time to remind the world of the great SNL skit in which Chris Elliott cons George Foreman into reading GOODNIGHT MOON to him backstage. (“You know what’s better than mittens? Plippens! You know what’s better than plippens? Blippens! You know what’s better than blippens? Beepens! You know what’s better than beepens…”) http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/chris-bedtime-story/n10640?snl=1

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About A Fuse #8 Production

Features everything from librarian previews of upcoming children's books to news, reviews, and videos. If it has something to do with children's literature, it will rate a mention here.

Betsy Bird is the Youth Materials Specialist of New York Public Library. She's reviewed for The New York Times and Kirkus, writes articles for Horn Book and SLJ, and wrote the picture book Giant Dance Party. You can contact her at Fusenumber8@gmail.com or follow her on . . .